ASTRUD GILBERTO – The Astrud Gilberto Album (1984) Serie The Silver Collection | FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Astrud Gilberto has never been properly anthologized by Verve Records; although they've released a number of compilations over the years, none of them have been definitive, and most of them have been rather skimpy. 1987's The Silver Collection, originally released only in Europe but later imported to North America, is an idiosyncratic selection. It omits "The Girl From Ipanema," her biggest hit, includes all 11 tracks from her 1965 release The Astrud Gilberto Album, and adds on a selection of singles and album tracks recorded from 1965 to 1970 with no particular logic. All that said, however, it's still one of the best compilations available of this idiosyncratic but brilliant singer's '60s material. Jazz purists turn up their noses at Gilberto, correctly pointing out her near total lack of technical ability. However, the Brazilian songbird's appealingly plain voice, with its deliberately wobbly pitch (the "desafinado" style celebrated in Antonio Carlos Jobim's song of that title), total lack of vibrato, and deadpan phrasing, is a delight for those attuned to its charms. (It's likely that many indie pop singers of the '90s, male and female both, were at least indirectly influenced by Gilberto's vocal style, which, in retrospect, seems absolutely revolutionary.) A fine mix of classics and obscurities focusing on her Portuguese language material, The Silver Collection is an excellent starting point for the Gilberto novice, despite the lack of her signature song and the absence of liner notes. One listen to a song like "Summer Samba (So Nice)," arguably the dreamiest pop hit of the '60s, makes plain Gilberto's lasting importance. Stewart Mason
Tracklist + Credits :

ASTRUD GILBERTO – Astrud Gilberto's Finest Hour (2001) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Like Nico, Astrud Gilberto's everywoman voiced has always had a polarizing effect on critics and fans alike. While her take on bossa nova is less than reverent and decidedly lightweight, the warmth and approachability she brings to each performance is stunning. Verve's lovingly compiled -- and blissfully affordable -- Astrud Gilberto's Finest Hour is as solid a collection of her heady mixture of samba, jazz and pop as you're likely to find. Twenty songs, including the classic "Girl From Ipanema," wash in like waves from the warmest of oceans, carrying with them the soft, reverb-drenched soundtrack to summer. If the tropical heat of "Berimbau," the lazy and lonely pulse of Burt Bacharach's "Trains and Boats and Planes" and the upbeat swing of "Wish Me a Rainbow" don't instantly take the drudgery of your day away, then consider yourself hopelessly bitter. Highly recommended. James Christopher Monger
Tracklist + Credits :
 

ASTRUD GILBERTO – The Diva Series (2003) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Astrud Gilberto, the Brazilian canary with the voice like honey and diction that defied belief, has been compiled many times on Verve, but rarely as well as on her entry in 2003's The Diva Series. A 21-track of her prime decade, the '60s, this one includes all of the classics associated with her: "The Girl From Ipanema," "Agua de Beber," "Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)," "So Nice (Summer Samba)," and "Dindi." Not all of her LPs have been reissued on CD (in the States), so the compilers also added tracks that may surprise a few Gilberto fans, like "Eu e Voce" and "Canto de Ossanha (Let Go)." John Bush
Tracklist + Credits :

ASTRUD GILBERTO – Compact Jazz (1987) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

For listeners new to Gilberto's classic Verve work, this edition of the label's Compact Jazz sampler series makes for a perfect introduction. Along with Verve's equally fine Silver Collection of Gilberto's prime sides, this 16-track set includes cuts from most of the singer's different projects. From her classic Getz date ("The Girl From Ipanema") to her solo sessions with both Gil Evans ("Berimbau") and Ron Carter and Toots Thielemans ("Beach Samba"), the music is always top-notch. A disc that will please both your bossa nova- and jazz-loving friends at that next Carnaval party. Stephen Cook
Tracklist + Credits
 

ASTRUD GILBERTO – Astrud for Lovers (2004) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Astrud for Lovers is a strong collection of love songs performed by Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto. Her wispy and melancholic vocals are featured in a variety of settings recorded between 1963 and 1969 for Verve. The earliest tune, "Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)," is taken from the legendary Getz/Gilberto album that marked Astrud's star-making first recording. The rest of the collection finds her with Stan Getz again doing a sweet version of "It Might as Well Be Spring" in 1964, crooning a smooth "Tu Mi Delirio" with organist Walter Wanderley in 1966, fronting a big orchestra in 1969 on two songs taken from the Beach Samba album, and essaying the intimate "Mahna de Carnival" with just guitar for accompaniment. The album shows that while she had a limited vocal range she knew how to get the most out of it and that she was equally at home in many settings. Not to mention that the collection establishes and maintains a lovely romantic mood throughout! That is what they had in mind no doubt and they succeeded. Tim Sendra  
Tracklist + Credits :

ASTRUD GILBERTO – Verve Jazz Masters 9 (1994) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

 Astrud Gilberto's entry in the nicely appointed Verve Jazz Masters compilation series shows exactly why the Brazilian singer is deserving of such an accolade. In her '60s heyday, Gilberto was often derided by jazz purists for her vibrato-less "desafinado" (deliberately slightly off-pitch) singing style and deadpan, childlike voice. But the diminutive bossa nova star has since been a huge influence on dozens of jazz and pop singers.
VERVE JAZZ MASTERS is less of a greatest hits package than it is a smartly balanced retrospective of many of Gilberto's best performances. Her biggest hits, "Call Me" and "Summer Samba," are not included, and her signature tune, "The Girl From Ipanema," is only represented by a live take from a 1964 Carnegie Hall concert. The collection places equal emphasis on Gilberto's bossa nova-style interpretations of jazz standards and on her signature Portuguese-language sambas. The smartly packaged CD also features remastered sound and several rare photographs. Allmusic
Tracklist + Credits :

ASTRUD GILBERTO – Non-Stop to Brazil (2006) RM | Serie Jazzclub | Legends | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This well-appointed collection from Brazilian jazz vocalist Astrud Gilberto looks beyond her signature 1964 track, "The Girl from Ipanema," at some of the other great performances from her prime years. Issued in 2006 as a European import, Non-Stop to Brazil relies heavily on Gilberto's mid- to late-'60s Verve catalog, pulling highlights from albums like The Shadow of Your Smile ("Take Me to Aruanda"), Look to the Rainbow ("Lugar Bonito [Pretty Place]"), and A Certain Smile, a Certain Sadness ("Tu, Mi Delirio"). Her beguiling delivery of these bossa nova, samba, and American jazz tracks reveals why she became an international star. Timothy Monger
Tracklist + Credits :

ASTRUD GILBERTO – The Astrud Gilberto Album (1965/2011) RM | SHM-SACD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Astrud Gilberto became an accidental success when her fragile command of English made her the de facto choice to sing "The Girl from Ipanema" at a session led by Stan Getz and her husband, João Gilberto. Of course, despite its overwhelming success, it wasn't clear that she could sustain a career when she recorded her first solo LP, The Astrud Gilberto Album. She had sounded more like an amateurish novelty act than a recording professional, her voice was sweet but fragile, and the Getz/Gilberto album had featured two strong voices, with Gilberto herself an afterthought (albeit a commercially effective afterthought). But The Astrud Gilberto Album was at least as good as Getz/Gilberto (despite what jazz fans say), for several reasons. The Brazilian repertoire plays particularly well to traditionally weak vocalists, her voice was yet more sweet than had been heard previously, and as before, the record featured two strong leaders -- arranger Marty Paich and the incomparable Antonio Carlos Jobim. Paich's strings positively coated the album with radiance, and his choices for lead instrumental voices -- Bud Shank's flute, João Donato's piano, Jobim's guitar -- complemented her vocals perfectly. Gilberto sounded beautiful on a range of material, from the sentimental "Dindi" to the playful "Agua de Beber," and as long as intelligent musicians were playing to her strengths (as they do here), the results were splendid. John Bush  
Tracklist + Credits :

ASTRUD GILBERTO – The Shadow of Your Smile (1966/2002) RM | Serie LP Reproduction | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

For her second Verve LP, Astrud Gilberto expanded her range from a raft of Gilberto/Jobim standards to embrace the large and obviously daunting catalogue of classic American pop. With arrangements by Don Sebesky and Claus Ogerman (as well as two by country-mate João Donato), The Shadow of Your Smile can't help but shine a bright spotlight on Gilberto's weak voice, especially when she's singing material previously enlightened by singers with the weight of Frank Sinatra or Sarah Vaughan. Even the intimate, understated arrangements on songs like "Day by Day," the title track, and "Fly Me to the Moon" overshadow the chanteuse's limited range. Brazilian material like the five songs by Luiz Bonfá make for better listening, though the preponderance of flutes, strings, and muted trumpet in the arrangements is very mid-'60s, for better and worse. (And the notes' description of "O Ganso" as an "exercise in vocalise based on bah and dah sounds" is being more than generous.) Certainly, no American vocalist could hope to equal the tortured syntax and somehow endearing performances on these songs; still, Verve did much better by Gilberto later on when they gave her good-time Brazilian songs to sing and didn't attempt to force comparison with standard jazz/pop vocalists. John Bush  
Tracklist + Credits :
 

ASTRUD GILBERTO – Look to the Rainbow (1966/2008) RM | Verve Originals | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This was a beautiful bossa nova record of Astrud Gilberto's vocal stylings...All the material (32:13) here, with the exception of "Learn to Live Alone" and "Pretty Place," which were arranged by Al Cohn, were arranged by Gil Evans. With the exception of a Johnny Coles trumpet solo, the personnel was uncredited on this 1966 recording. Discographies have credited Bob Brookmeyer (valve trombone), Kenny Burrell (guitar), and Grady Tate (drums), but except for a few bars of sax, there was no solo indivdualism in this large Creed Taylor-produced orchestra. Bob Rusch
Tracklist + Credits :

 

ASTRUD GILBERTO | WALTER WANDERLEY – A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness (1966/2008) RM | Verve Originals | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

In 1966, the bossa nova craze was at a peak, and A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness marked a collaboration between two of its biggest stars -- vocalist Astrud Gilberto, brought to fame by her classic rendition of "The Girl from Ipanema," and organist Walter Wanderley. Even though the album is good, it is not as exciting as one might hope. While the music is remarkably innocent and sweet, with just a little underlying touch of sadness beneath the joyous, even naïve, surface, Gilberto and Wanderley do not always seem to work together on these tracks -- it often appears as if each is performing in a universe of his or her own. That being said, there are many bright sides to the album, too: Wanderley's organ playing is as enthusiastic and fluffy as ever, while Gilberto's singing (in both English and Portuguese) remains smile-inducing. Both manage to create an incredibly warm sound, and when Wanderley plays some piano (as on the beautiful "A Certain Sadness"), you can sense a spark between the two. So, while A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness might not be the most successful album of all time, it is still a nice record that fans of either Gilberto or Wanderley will want to have. And -- even though one tends to use the word "cocktail lounge music" -- their rendition of "Tristeza" is simply irresistible, easy listening or not. Christian Genzel  
Tracklist + Credits :

ASTRUD GILBERTO – Beach Samba (1967/1993) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

One of Gilberto's less impressive '60s Verve outings, primarily due to the more pop-oriented song selection. Much of this is just standard pleasant Gilberto: offhand vocals and a sumptuous Brazil pop-cum-U.S. orchestration feel (Ron Carter and Toots Thielemans are among the sidemen). And some of the pop choices work well, particularly Tim Hardin's gorgeous "Misty Roses." No vocals or arrangements, however, could save the criminally wrong-headed military march of "A Banda (Parade)," or the exasperatingly coochie-coochie duet between Gilberto and her six-year-old son on the Lovin' Spoonful's "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice." Which makes it all the more surprising when the next and concluding track, "Nao Bate O Corocao," has Gilberto cutting loose with confident, sassy scats, as she rarely did before or since. The CD reissue improves matters by adding five bonus cuts from A Certain Smile a Certain Sadness, recorded in 1966 in more authentically bossa nova-style arrangements, anchored by organist Walter Wanderley. Richie Unterberger  
Tracklist + Credits :

ASTRUD GILBERTO – Windy (1968/2001) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

 
While assembled from seemingly disparate sessions arranged by Eumir Deodato, Don Sebesky, and Pat Williams, Windy nevertheless proves one of Astrud Gilberto's most consistent and sublime efforts, artfully straddling the division between Brazilian bossa nova and American sunshine pop. Credit the aforementioned arrangers for much of the LP's appeal -- from a percolating rendition of the Association's title cut to a neo-classical reinvention of the Beatles' "In My Life," the songs possess a lithe, shimmering beauty that perfectly complements Gilberto's feathery vocals. Still, she can't quite skirt the cloying sweetness that undermines so many of her mid-period Verve LPs -- son Marcelo, who first joined his mother on the previous Beach Samba for an excruciating duet version of the Lovin Spoonful's "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice," resurfaces here for a reading of The Jungle Book's "The Bare Necessities," proving yet again that children should be seen and not heard. Jason Ankeny  
Tracklist + Credits :

ASTRUD GILBERTO – I Haven't Got Anything Better To Do (1969) LP | 24bits-192Hz | FLAC (tracks), lossless

 

With her tenure on Verve drawing to a close, Astrud Gilberto steps further away from her bossa nova roots with I Haven't Got Anything Better to Do, an intimate, nocturnal set closer in scope and spirit to the Baroque pop of Burt Bacharach, whose "Trains and Boats and Planes" is beautifully rendered here. In the liner notes Gilberto dubs it "my fireplace album," and indeed the record is immediately warm and comforting, despite the melancholy that colors all of the selections. Albert Gorgoni's arrangements are sumptuously romantic, perfectly complementing the simple, poignant vocals. Mistakenly considered a minor entry in the Gilberto canon, I Haven't Got Anything Better to Do is instead a minor masterpiece. Each song is ideally suited to her distinctive style and the disc as a whole maintains a consistency of mood and feeling largely unmatched in her catalog. Jason Ankeny

Tracklist  :
A1 I Haven't Got Anything Better To Do 2:55
Written-By – Pockriss, Vance
A2 Didn't We? 2:52
Written-By – Webb
A3 Wailing Of The Willow 2:11
Written-By – Nilsson
A4 Where's The Love 2:18
Written-By – Weinstein, Legrand
A5 The Sea Is My Soil (I Remember When) 3:27
Written-By – Caymmi, Motta
Written-By, Lyrics By [English] – Udell
B1 Trains And Boats And Planes 2:46
Written-By – Bacharach-David
B2 World Stop Turning 2:14
Written-By – Charlap, Udell
B3 Without Him 4:30
Written-By – Nilsson
B4 Wee Small Hours 2:15
Written-By – Hilliard, Mann
B5 If (The Biggest Little Word) 2:34
Written-By – Sherman, Udell
Credits
Arranged By, Conductor – Albert Gorgoni
Bass – George Duvivier, Richard Davis
Bass Trombone – Alan Rath
Cello – Maurice Bialkin, Seymour Barab
Drums – Gary Chester
Guitar – Albert Gorgoni, Sam Brown
Harp – Eugene Bianco
Keyboards – Frank Owens, Paul Griffin, Stan Free
Percussion – Airto Moreira, David Carey, George Devens, Joe Venuto
Saxophone – Art Kaplan
Trombone – Mickey Gravine, Tony Studd, Wayne André
Trumpet – Burt Collins, John Glasel, Irvin Markowitz
Viola – David Saxon, Seymour Berman
Violin – Ben Blumenreich, Harry Lookofsky, Irving Spice, Joe Haber, Lewis Eley, Lew Haber, Louis Stone, Matthew Raimondi, Tosha Samaroff
Vocals – Astrud Gilberto

ASTRUD GILBERTO – September 17, 1969 (1970/2007) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Astrud Gilberto had begun tackling '60s vocal pop crossovers on her Windy album from earlier in 1969, but her final record (of three) from that year found her stretching out not just on material but on arrangements. The production and arrangements by Brooks Arthur and Albert Gorgoni, respectively, attempt to push Gilberto into the type of groovy "now sound" that everyone from Harry Nilsson to Andy Williams was employing in the late '60s. Of course, Gilberto was an easy fit for this type of sound, and the only missteps here come when the songs don't fit her occasionally limited talents. "Light my Fire" is at the top of that list, while the Bee Gees' "Holiday" and Nilsson's "Don't Leave Me, Baby" appear very high as well. Highlights do crop up, with the opener "Beginnings" working very well except for its long coda, and the one Brazilian song, "Let Go (Canto de Ossanha)" charting the perfect balance between timeless pop and late-'60s crossover appeal. John Bush
Tracklist :

ASTRUD GILBERTO – Gilberto with Turrentine (1971-2013) RM | Blu-spec CD | CTI Supreme Collection – 14 | FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

W/ Stanley Turrentine. 1988 reissue of 1971 set that had some mildly entertaining moments. Ron Wynn
Tracklist + Credits :

ASTRUD GILBERTO – Now (1972/2001) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Two years after her underrated album on CTI Records, Astrud Gilberto's follow-up is her first attempt to be taken seriously, not as a singer -- she had that covered -- but as a songwriter, at a time when simply singing standards was seen as lacking. Her four songs on this ten-song album show she has a way with a melody, though obviously influenced by countrymen Milton Nascimento and Jorge Ben, and her producer Eumir Deodato. "Gingele" and "Zigy Zigy Za" are exactly the kind of riff-based tropicalismo that Ben and company were making popular around this time. "Take It Easy My Brother Charlie" is probably her best song here (covered over 20 years later by Kahimi Karie), though it is Ben who often gets the writing credit (here it's listed as Gilberto and associate producer David Jordan). Very few concessions are made to America; only "Daybreak (Walking Out of Yesterday)" comes from the pop world, with instrumentation and sound coming from south of the equator. Ted Mills  
Tracklist + Credits :

ASTRUD GILBERTO – The Girl from Ipanema (1977/2002) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

That Girl From Ipanema (1977) est album assez catastrophique où soumise à l'inspiration musicale de l'époque Astrud GIlberto se lance dans la Disco-Pop avec beaucoup de maladresse. "The Girl From Ipanema", le titre qui ouvre l'album, est un pur produit Disco bourré de clichés, aux arrangements clinquants et dispendieux. Je ne vais pas revenir sur les années magiques d'Astrud Gilberto, ses années Bossa Nova (l'excellent Look To The Rainbow - 1966). That Girl From Ipanema propose néanmoins un très joli moment avec le morceau "Far Away" et la présence de Chet Baker à la trompette. Mais vite la chanteuse/compositrice retombe dans la médiocrité avec le titre "We'll Make Today Last Night Again". That Girl From Ipanema est un album à réserver aux amateurs de Disco-Pop qui aimeraient découvrir ce qui se faisait (oserai-je dire de pire) à la fin des années 70 au Brésil. Seule consolation, la voix toujours aussi sensuelle et lumineuse d'Astrud Gilberto  Bossa-Normandie Miedj
Tracklist + Credits :

ASTRUD GILBERTO | JAMES LAST – Astrud Gilberto Plus the James Last Orchestra (1986/2009) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

1987 release. Gilberto still has alluring sound. Ron Wynn
Tracklist :

SHIGEHARU MUKAI + ASTRUD GILBERTO – So & So : Mukai Meets Gilberto (1983/1990) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist + Credits :